Flying-machine.



H. M. CHIRON. FLYING MACHINE.

.l APPLIOATIQN FILED APR. 17, 191.4. 1,106,626. Patented Aug. 11`, 1914a Sunni-SHEET 1.

H. M. CHIRON.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 11PR.17, 1914.

1,106,626. Patented Aug. 11,1914.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET z.

:IHMIML l" ('{/'h "www j@ u -S N* 34 n a a a jfl. a; 5+ i 1 a nl Q a i@f n2 a a R l 2\ E'. |l 1 a I p if 1| 1 1 I;r f I /1// 7/\/555. L j jf/vvg/v 7m?.

H. M. CHIRON.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17. 1914.

1,106,626, A Patented Aug.11,1911

3 SHIEETS*BHBET 3.

7;@ 5 /J/ TN 55555. [AA/5N TUR.

HIPPOLYTE MARIUS CHTBN, F VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA.

FLYING-MACIINE."

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1914.

Application led Apri1\17, 1914. Serial No. 832,580.

T0 n/Z 'er/0m it may concern Be it known that I, HIPPOLYTE MARIUS CHmoN,a citizen 0f France, and a resident of the city of Vancouver, in theProvince of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements 1n F lying-Machines, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements'in flying machines, and the objectof my 1nvention is to devise a flying machine adapted to be separatedinstantly by the aviator into two parts, should he find himself inextreme peril, one such part carrying the motor and the other theaviator, each part being further adapted to descend gradually after suchseparation, thereby obviating the risk pertaining to the use of flyingmachines at the present time and affording a means of protection to theaviatir, the public, and the machine itself. I attain this object by themeans illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is aside View of my machine. Fig. 2 is a plan View of my machine, the upperset of rear wings being removed and part of the flexible framework. Fig.3 is a view showing the after part of my machine after separation fromthe front part. Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line A-B in Fig, 1.

Similar figures of reference indicate similar parts throughout theseveral views.

At the present time, in flying machine use, should the machine be putout of act-ion by an accident while in the air, it invariably falls tothe ground at a great speed, and in nearly every case thc machine iscompletely wrecked and the aviator killed, while if there are anypersons in` way of the machine as it falls, they also are either killedor injured. In order to prevent these disasters as far as possible Ihave devised my present machine, which I will now describe more fully.For the sake of elearness in the drawings, minor details of theframework have been left out, but it will be understood that the frame fthe machine is designed in accordance with the requirements of service.The essential features, however, necessary to illustrate the inventionhave been shown.

1 is the front frame of my machine, which frame may be of the typecommon to all flying machines and adapted to be borne on three frontWheels 2, of which the near side Wheel is shown in Fig. 1.

3 are stays for the frame 1.

4 are stationary side arms forming part of the structure of the frontpart of the machine, and which arms are held in position by the verticalstationary posts 5.

6 ale movable side arms hingedly connected to the posts and adapted toco-act with the stationary side arms 4, as hereinafter described.

7 are catches swingably secured on the side arms 4 and normally inengagement with pins 8 secured in the movable arms (3, by means of whichcatches 7 and pins S the arms 6 are adapted to be detachably secured tothe arms 4 so to grip firmly therebetween the flexible membershereinafter mentioned of the after part of the machine, all as shown inFig. 1. The gripping faces of the arms 4 and 6 are provided with aplurality of sockets 9, shown dotted in Fig. l, for a purposehereinafter mentioned.

10 is a horizontal lever, swingably carried on the front part of themachine and adapted to be operated by the feet o'r the aviator to mogethe ropes 11 and 12, which are connected to a similar lever 13, alsoswingably carried on the front part of the machine and which thus movesin accordance with the movement of lever l0. This lever 13 normallyengages against another lever 14 swingably carried on the after part ofthe machine, pulleys 15 on the extremities of the lever 13 bearing onthe face of lever 14 so that it, While separate from lever 13, is movedin accordance therewith, and thus the ropes 16 and 17 which areconnected to the lever 14 and the rudder 18'iare under control of theaviator when thecomplete machine is in use and yet adapted for instantdisconnection from the vfront part when separation of the machine isnecessary.

19 is a gear carried on the front part of the machine and in normalengagement with a gear 20 carried on the after part of the machine,which gear 20 is provided with a horizontal lever 21 from which leverropes 22 and 23 are led to the shaft 24, carrying the small win 25.

26 isa steering wheel, by means of which, through the shaft 27, the gear19 is actuated to move the gear 20, lever 21, and ropes 22 and 23, andthus manipulate the shaft 24 and wings 25.

2S are catches swingably carried on the front part of thel machine andengaging in eyes 29 carried by the after part oi' the machine wherebyboth parts are further secured togetherI when the machine is assembled.

3() is a hand lever pivoted on the structure of the front part of themachine, from which lever ropes 31 are led through suitable sheaves 32to the catches 7 and 28, whereby these catches may be instantly thrownout of their normal engaging position by a pull on the lever 30.

33 is a normally folded parachute of suitable size extending across theunder side of the structure of the front part of the machine, being heldthereto in its folded up position, by means of the arms 34, as shown inFig. 1, which are hinged to the frame 1 at 35, as shown in Fig. 1, andwhich arms are themselves held in their normal position by the portion3G of the after part of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1. The ropes ofthe parachute 33 are carried inside the folded up fabric of same andthey are led to one common rope, 75, in Fig. 1, which is attached to thefront part and from which rope the front part depends when falling withthe parachute open.

37 is a Wind cutter carried in front of the folded parachute 33.

38 are flexible members forming part of the structure of the after partof the machine, these members being adapted to be gripped firmly betweenthe arms 4 and (3 when the machine is assembled, as shown in Fig. 1.Fach member 38 is provided with a plurality of knobs 39, as shown inFig. 3, which engage into the sockets 9, hereinbefore mentioned, bymeans of which the members 3S are more firmly retained between the arms4 and 6.

4() are the main members of the after part of the structure of themachine, these being connected to the front part by means of the catches28 and eyes 29, hereinbefore described.

V41 are stiffener members the ends of which fit against the sides of themembers 38 to keep same in their true form, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

42 are the members of a flexible frame work which is carried by theafter Dart of the machine in a normally folded up posi tion, as shown inFigs. 1, 2 and 4, which frame Work is covered by a strong fabric` and isadapted to extend to form a parachute, as shown in Fig. 3, immediatelythe separation of the machine takes place. The upper ends of the members42 are attached to the frame 43, while theiry lower extremities are eachprovided with a rope 44 in Fig. 3, each of which ropes is normally woundaround its respective pulley 45, there beingl an individual pulleyprovided ilu each member 4g. 'lhese pulleys 1. are secured to thestruct-.rA of the x.er patt ot' the machine in a suitable posit. and areprovided on their ends with a ;-tnizi1t,d portion, ae'atzot whichsquared ian'tion the plates 1 is assem- Yli bear when the mavnineble-nl. and thus the pulleys aoktpt i'rom turning until the plaies aredropped. These plates lb are liiingedlyI conne ted to a snitahh` partol' the strut-ture andv are adapted to be held in noi-mal engagementagainst the squared ends of the pulleys 45 so that same may be kept fromturning, or to be disengaged therefrom to allow the pulleys to revolve.by means of the trip catches 47, which are automatically operated as todisengagement. by means of the llexible members 3S. being connectedthereto by means ot the ropes 4S, which are led over suitable sheaves49.

5() are flexible members extending between the main members of theframework, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3 these members 5() beingprovided so as to assist in the opening of the parachute formed by themembers 42.

51 are rollers carried by the ends ot' the members 5t) to provide forvthe easy travel of thc ends of the members 5() along` the members 42.with which they are engaged when the parachute is opening.

52 are Criss-cross braces carried by the frame of the machine for thepurpose of stowing the flexible members 42 more compactly when thecomplete machine is in use. These braces, however, do not interfere withthe openingr action of the parachtite.

is the hind wheel 0f my machine, which is detachably secured to themembers 42 on the under side of the machine by means of the trip catches54, these catches being.

automatically operated as to disengagement by the iexible members 38 atthe same time as the catches 47, since the ropes 55 connecting them withthe members 38 are continuations of the ropes 48.

56 and 57 are the rear wings, which are normally used in a horizontalposit-ion, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. These wings, however, are pivotedon the frame, as shown, 58 in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, and are held in nor.-mal horizontal position to certain members 42 by means of the tripcatches 59, which Catches are adapted to be operated as to disengagementby the openingr action of their lrespective members 42 and thus allowthe wings 56 and 57 to assume the position shown in Fig. 3, and furtherassist; in retarding the descent of the after part of the machine afterseparation.

6() are ropes attached to the wings 56 and 57 and normally wound aroundcertain of the pulleys which are reserved for thisl purpose.

the lever 80.

6l is the seat for the aviator, which is carried slidably in the slots63 of the arms ('34, these arms being secured to the structn of themachine, the slots 63 being provided so that the seat will always assumea normally level position, as shown in Figs. l and 8.

65 and G6 are right and left hand loops provided on the ropes, 16 and 17whereby these ropes may be easily handled 'by the aviator to operate therudder when descending after separation of the machine. G7 and 68 aresimilar loops provided on the ropes 22 and 23 for easy handling of theseropes to manipulate the shaft 2'4 and wings 25 when descending afterseparation.

69 is a canvas guard disposed in front of the folded members 42 as shownin Fig. 1, to prevent the ingress of air into the folded parachute whenthe assembled machine is flying.

70 and 71 are the front wings.

72 represents the engine.

73 is the propeller.'

.74 are stiflening laths secured to the members 42 and the fabriccovering same, as shown in Fig. 3. y

Having thus indicated the principal parts of my invention, I will nowdescribe the manner in which it operates.

The assembled machine is used in the 'same manner as otherm-achines.'.Sliould,A however, the aviator, when 1n the air, find-'- himself inextreme danger of being dashed .to the ground through accident, he pullsThis immediately trips the catches 7 and 28,` allowing the flexiblemembers 88 to fiy out from cngagementwith the arms 4 and 6 and at thesame time allowing the main members 40 of the after part to separatevfrom the front part,` whereupon the two portions of the machineimmediately fall apart. The hinged arms 34, being then freed from theafter part of the machine, swing downwardly, allowing the parachute 33to unfold, thus retarding the rapid descent of the front part andbringing same gradually to the ground. The flexible members 38, flyingapart, straighten out, thus pulling on the ropes 48 and 55 and tripping`the catches 47 and 54 respectively. The catches 54 being thus tripped,the rear wheel 53 is detached from the members 42 and falls aparttherefrom. The catches 47 being tripped, the plates 46 are released frombearing against the squared portions of the pulleys 45, which are thenfree to revolve and thus the flexible members 42 are allowed to springoutwardly to form a par- 'the opened parachute thereafter retardsfthedescent so that the after part carrying the aviator will fall graduallyand safely to the ground. The direction and speed ofl y descent can becontrolledsby the manipulation of the ridder 18 and the rear wings 25through their respective ropes.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. flying machine, comprising a suitably supported body structuredivided into a fore part and an after part, said parts being normally indetachable connection with each other, means for instantaneouslyseparating the said parts, and means for then retardiug` the descent ofthe separated parts whereby the same may fall gradually, .allsubstantially as set forth.

2. In, a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts, propelling mechanism therefor, and suitablesupporting wings, of means for detachably connecting the said fore andafter parts together, means for releasing said detachable connectingmeans to separate said parts, and means for then retarding the descentof the separated parts bers of the after part to the fore part, levermeans adapted to release both the said detachable connecting meansinstantaneously to separate the said parts. .and means for retarding thedescent of the parts after separation, all -substantially as set forth.

4. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts, propelling mechanismthcrefor, and suitablesupporting Wings, of gripping members carried by the said fore part,flexible members carried by the said after part and extending int-othegripping members of the fore part, means for detachably connectingthe said flexible members to the. said gripping members, means fordetachably connecting the main members of the after part to the forepart, lever means adapted to release both the said detachable connectingmeans instantaneously to separate the said parts, a hind wheel adaptedto be detachably connected to the under side of the after part,automatic means for disconnecting the said hind wheel from the afterpart when the fore and after parts are separated, and means forretardingthe and to retardthe descent of said parts' whereby same mayfall gradually, all substantially as set forth.

(3. ln a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts detacliably connected together, propellingmechanism therefor, suitable supporting Wings carriedv by the fore part,and means for separating the said parts, of Wings carried by the afterpart,' said wings being 'adapted tonormally lie parallel with the bodyTstructure before separation and to swing to an adjusted position atright `angles to the vertical center line of the after part afterseparation, means for .retaining said Wings in their normal positions,and meansl for freeing .-aaid wings whereby they may swing to theadjusted positions, all substantially as set forth.

v7. In a flying machine, thev combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts det'achably connected together, propellingmechanism therefor, suitable supporting wings andmea-ns for'separatingsaid parts, of Wings swingably mounted on the after part at the rear endthereof, and means for Varying the inclination of said .vingz's, allsubstantially as set forth.

8. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts detachably connected together, propellingmechanism therefor, suitable supporting wings. and means for separatingthe said parts, of steering w'ings'swingably mounted on the after partat the rear end thereof, and means for varying the inclination of thesaid Wings, said means being adapted to be operated from the fore partbefore separation and from the after part after separation. a

f). Inra flying machine, the combination with abody structure dividedinto fore and after parts detachably connected together, propellingmechanism` therefor, suitable supporting wings carried-by the fore part,and means for separating the said parts, of supporting Wings carried bythe after part and normally parallel vwith. the body structure beforeseparation, said Wings being- 'adapted to swing to `an adjusted positionat right angles to the vertical center line of the after part afterseparation, means for retaining said Wings in the normal position, meansfor freeing said Wings whereby they may swing` to the adjusted position,steering Wings svvingably mounted on the after part at the rear endthereof, and' means for varying 'the inclination of said steering wings,all substantially as set forth.

l0. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts detachably connected together, propellingmechanism therefor, suitable supporting Wings, and means for separatingthe said parts, of a rudder sWingably mounted on the body structure atthe rear end thereof, means adapted to control the said rudder from thefore part before separation, and means for controlling the rudder fromthe after part after sepa 1ation, all substantially set forth.'

lll. ln a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts, propelling mechanism therefor, suitablesupporting Wings, and means for separrting the said parts, of a normallyfolded parachute carried by the after part and adapted to extend whenthe .aid parts are separated so 'as to retard the descent of the saidafter part, means for retainingthe parachute in the normally foldedposition, and means for automati- Ecally freeing the said retainingmeans at the momentbf separation to allow the parachute to open, allsubstantially as set forth.

.12. In a flying-machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts, propelling mechanism therefor, suitablesupporting Wings, and means for separating said parts, of a normallyfolded parachute carried by the after part and adapted to extend whenthe said parts are separated, means for retaining the para'- chute inthe normally folded position, means for automatically freeing the saidretaining means at the moment of separation to allow the parachuteftoopen, and means for preventing the ingress of air into the normallyfolded parachute, all substantially as set forth.

13. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts, propelling mechanism therefor, suitablesupporting wings, and means for separating the said parts, of a normallyfolded parachute carried by the after part and adapted to open tosupport same after separation Yfrom the fore part, means for retainingthe parachute in the normally folded position, means for automaticallyfreeing the said retaining means at the moment of separation whereby'the said parachute will lill with air and open, and means .for assistingthe opening of the parachute,

said means consisting of normally folded flexible members extendingbetween the ilexible members of the parachute and adapted to straightenout When the parachute is opening', all substantially as set forth.

14'. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts detachably connected together, propellingymechanism therefor, and suitable supporting1 wings, of means forseparating the said parts, means for controllingr the structure beforeseparation, means for controlling' the after part after Separation, anda scat suitably supported on the after part and disposed in proximity tothe said separation means and the said controlling means, said Seatbeing adapted to maintain a. normal horizontal position before and afterthe Separation of the said parts, all substantially as set forth.

15. In a flying machine, the combination With a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts `detachably connected together, propellingmechanism therefor, suitable supporting wings and means for separatingthe said parts, of a normally folded parachute carried by the fore partand attached thereto, said parachute being adapted to open to supportsaid fore part after same is separated from the after part, and meansfor automatically releasing the said'parachute from its normally foldedposition so as to alloY same to open, all Substantially as set forth.

1G. In a flying machine, the combination with a body structure dividedinto fore and after parts detachably connected together,

propelling mechanism therefor, suitable supporting wings, and means forSeparating` the said parts, of a normally folded parachute carried bythe fore part and attached thereto, said parachute being adapted to opento support said fore part after same is Separated from the afte part,means for automatically releasing the said parachute from its normallyclosed position, so as to allow same to open, and a Wind cutter disposedin front of the normally closed parachute, all substantially as setforth.

Dated at Vancouver, B. (I.y this lst day of pril, 1914.

HIPPOLYTE MARIUS CHIRON. vitnesses :I

Janes TAYLOR, JonN J. SEWELL.

